Information for Alumni and Friends

You will always be part of the UB family - stay connected, and involved.

Illustrious Alumni

Lena May Reading, B.A. '10

As Senior Technical Project Manager for Maritz IT Services in St. Louis Missouri, COM Department alumna Lena Reading (B.A. ’10) leads project teams to the successful implementation of technical solutions that impact employees and clients. Projects include designing, operating, and implementing infrastructure solutions that support recognition and reward programs, sales channel incentive programs, customer loyalty programs, and more. In addition to her work at Maritz, Reading was recently named President of Friends of Carondelet Park in St. Louis. Reading has made a great impact in her relatively short tenure as president, collaborating with Utah-based retailer of card making and craft supplies DCWV Inc. to launch the Paper Box Project. The Paper Box Project allows visitors to the park to select the perfect supplies for a homemade card, resulting in creativity, community, and smiles.

Kathryn Pryzbyla, B.A. '11

This past October, UB Communication alumna Kathryn Przybyla (BA '11), who is employed as Social Media Coordinator for the Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center in NYC, took over the UB Alumni Association Twitter handle (@ubalumni) via The Office of Alumni Engagement to chat with students, alumni, and other members of the UB community.

Felix Swierski, B.A. '12

Felix Swierski (B.A. '12), department alumnus and the son of Adjunct Instructor Karen Swierski, has risen in the ranks since conferring his undergraduate degree at UB. Felix, secretary of Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society while at UB, went on to be the media coordinator for the New York State Assembly, and has since obtained a position as Special Assistant to the President at Georgetown University. In addition to the opportunity to work with numerous noteworthy people, Felix has traveled extensively, including trips to Qatar, Rome, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge.

Chua Siang Yee, B.A. (SIM) '13

An article in the Straits Times (a major Singapore newspaper) featured a recent graduate from the Department of Communication's program at the Singapore Institute of Management. Chua Siang Yee, now a reporter for the Straits Times, received the S-League (the Singapore football league) Story of the Year Award. At an award ceremony which brought together the past and present generations of Singapore footballers, Siang Yee received the award for his story, "Pennant looking to start over in S'pore" which was published on Jan 10 in The Sunday Times.

Georges Khalil, Ph.D. '15

Based on the success of a recent study, Georges was awarded a Cancer Prevention Research Training Pre-Doctoral Fellowship from the National Cancer Institute, in conjunction with the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Currently, Georges is a full-time research fellow in Cancer Prevention at the MD Anderson Cancer Center working on designing and pilot testing a video game-based intervention for stress management among former smoking cancer patients.

Green Research Featured in New Konnikova Book

Published March 10, 2016

Dr. Melanie Green's research on the persuasive power of narrative is featured in New York Time's Best Selling Auhtor Maria Konnikova's newest book, "The Confidence Game." In pieces in the New Yorker and The New York Times adapted from her book, Konnikova cites Dr. Green's finding that the more a story transports the reader into its world, the more likely the reader is to believe it. The more engrossed a reader becomes in a story, Green finds, the less likely the reader is to notice false notes in the narrative.